16 May 1984

Meeting 14

Work programme in the field of population

The Economic and Social Council,

Recalling General Assembly resolution 3344(XXIX) of 17 December 1974, in which the Assembly affirmed that the World Population Plan of Action was an instrument of the international community for the promotion of economic development, quality of life, human rights and fundamental freedoms within the broader context of the internationally adopted strategies for national and international progress,

Recalling also Council resolution 1981/28 of 6 May 1981 on the strengthening of actions concerned with the fulfilment of the World Population Plan of Action,

Reaffirming the role of the Population Commission in advising the Council on population questions, and noting with satisfaction the holding of the twenty-third session of the Population Commission in February and March 1985,

Taking note of the report of the Population Commission on its twenty-second session and the discussion contained therein on the progress of work and the work programme in the field of population,

Bearing in mind recommendations that may emanate from the International Conference on Population, 1984, for the further implementation of the World Population Plan of Action,

1. Takes note with satisfaction of the progress of work towards the implementation of the work programme for the biennium 1984-1985 and the medium-term plan for the period 1984-1989;

2. Requests the Secretary-General:

(a) To continue vigorously the work on the monitoring of world population trends and policies and the work necessary for the review and appraisal of the World Population Plan of Action;

(b) To continue the work on world population trends and structure, paying attention to studies of fertility, mortality, internal and international migration, and particularly:

(i) To pursue vigorously the expansion of the data base for the measurement of the levels, trends, characteristics and demographic consequences of international migration;

(ii) To continue the work on patterns and factors of urbanization in relation to development, with special attention to internal migration;

(iii)To continue the work on the measurement and analysis of trends in mortality levels and differentials, the factors which affect them and their consequences; although special emphasis should be given to situations in developing countries, research related to developed countries should receive due recognition;

(iv) To complete a global assessment of nuptiality patterns and trends, making full use of the 1980 round of censuses;

(v) To undertake in the medium term a major global assessment of age patterns of fertility, including a special study of adolescent fertility;

(c) To continue the work on world demographic estimates and projections;

(d) To continue work on the interrelations of population and development, paying due attention both to the implications of population trends for development and to the impact of social and economic change on demographic trends, with a view to promoting the integration of demographic factors in national and international development strategies and plans, and to expedite the preparation of manuals for the use of national planners on methods of incorporating demographic factors in development planning;

(e) To continue the work undertaken by the United Nations Working Group on Comparative Analysis of World Fertility Survey Data, using all available data from the World Fertility Survey;

(f) To continue the work on the population policy data bank in order to broaden the scope and analytic capacity of research on population policy formulation, implementation and evaluation;

(g) To pursue research on the formulation, implementation and evaluation of all aspects of population policies, including mortality, fertility and the family, population distribution and international migration;

(h) To continue work on the interrelationships between population, resources, environment and development;

(i) To pursue and intensify the efforts of the international Population Information Network (POPIN) towards identifying and establishing better ways to improve the flow of population information;

(j) To continue the United Nations programme of technical co-operation in the field of population for countries requesting such assistance, in close co-ordination with funding agencies, in particular the United Nations Fund for Population Activities, taking full account of experience gained through technical co-operation projects on population, and making necessary programme modifications in the light of the recommendations of the International Conference on Population, 1984;

(k) To pursue the United Nations programme of training in population, giving appropriate support to the United Nations-sponsored regional and interregional demographic training and research centres, and assisting the further development of national training institutions, in order to provide interdisciplinary training in population, emphasizing specific policy-oriented training in and studies of population and development, and also to consider restoring the block grants for allocation for training fellowships;

(l) To assist Governments, at their request, to exploit the full potential of population censuses and survey data by developing national capacities for demographic analysis and studies, including the further development and utilization of emerging computer software for demographic evaluation and analysis and preparation of total and sectoral population projections as inputs to national development planning;

(m) To further assist Governments, at their request, in establishing or strengthening national institutions, such as population units and population committees, whose purpose is to co-ordinate all population activities, particularly those relating to development planning, to integrate population factors in national development and to assist Governments in the formulation, implementation, follow-up and evaluation of population policies and programmes;

(n) To effect the more timely publication of all population studies and projections and to promote a wide dissemination of those publications in order to provide Governments with information relevant for the formulation of policies;

3. Requests the Secretary-General, in carrying out the programme set out in paragraph 2 above, to seek any further needed resources only from extrabudgetary contributions;

4. Emphasizes the importance of maintaining the effectiveness and efficiency of the global and regional population programmes and of continuing to strengthen co-ordination and collaboration among the Department of International Economic and Social Affairs, the Department of Technical Co-operation for Development, the regional commissions, the United Nations Fund for Population Activities and organizations of the United Nations system in the planning and execution of their population programmes, as well as the need for organizations of the United Nations system to strengthen collaboration and co-ordination with national research organizations.